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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: file · saw · ground · capital · land · perch · rash · bound

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. perch — the fish
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — tied together
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. file — a tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — money
  11. land — a country
  12. land — ground
  13. rash — a series
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bound — certain
  16. rash — hasty
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a document
  19. capital — a city
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — the earth
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. land — to come down
  24. ground — crushed

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com